Painter
11 December 1654, Laufen an der Salzach, Bavaria - 25 October 1730, Vienna
The founder of Austrian baroque painting. Born at Laufen on the Salzach, directly across the river from the Salzburg archbishopric, Johann Michael Rottmayr trained in Venice and became the master of the ceiling fresco in the Habsburg lands.
In Salzburg his frescoes crown the dome of the Kollegienkirche and the Dreifaltigkeitskirche. If Rottmayr’s painting defines those Fischer von Erlach domes, Troger’s Glory of Saint Cajetan crowns the Kajetanerkirche, and Altomonte’s enriches Stift St. Peter. Together, the three painters represent the full baroque visual world of Salzburg’s golden age.
On the map
The 2 places on this page, where they actually stand.
Locations
Built 1694-1702
One of Fischer von Erlach's four major Salzburg churches. Notable for its oval dome, paired towers, and convex outward-curving facade, which forms a deliberate architectural conversation with the concave Kollegienkirche across the river. Adjacent to Mozart's Residence on Makartplatz.
Built 1696-1707
Fischer von Erlach's masterpiece in Salzburg and one of the finest baroque churches in the German-speaking world. His fourth and final major church in the city. The concave facade creates a deliberate counterpoint to the convex Dreifaltigkeitskirche across the river. On Universitatsplatz. A must-see.
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The longer pieces where this comes up.
If you have seen Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the most visited building in Austria, you have seen the work of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. He designed it. He also designed the Karlskirche, the National Library, and much of imperial Vienna's monumental face.
